God And His Word - A Question And Answer Approach To Understanding The Bible

In water baptism the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost - "THE LORD-JESUS-CHRIST" - is put upon the new convert. Romans 6:3; 13:14; Galatians 3:27. He becomes a CHRISTian and lives a life that does not make vain use of God's Name. 25. WHAT IS THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT? "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy" Exodus 20:8. 26. WHAT DID GOD MEAN BY "THE SABBATH DAY"? The Hebrew word "Sabbath" means rest. In Genesis we find that God rested from His labors on the 7th day, so He set it apart and hallowed it. Now, in this commandment, God tells Israel that the 7th day was to be a day of rest, in which no secular work was to be done, and which was to be kept holy to God. There are many Old Testament references. Exodus 16:23-29; 31:14-16; Leviticus 23; Deuteronomy 5:12-15; Nehemiah 13:15-22. 27. DID JESUS KEEP THE SABBATH ACCORDING TO THE LAW? No. Jesus violated the Sabbath, as far as the thinking of the Jews was concerned. Matthew 12:2; John 9:16. In fact, it was Jesus' open disregard for their concept of a holy Sabbath that raised His greatest opposition. Matthew 12:l-12; Mark l:21; 2:23-28; 3:2-5; Luke 6:1-11; 13:10-16; 14:1-5; John 5:9-18; 7:22-23; 9: 14-16. 28. HOW DID JESUS FULFILL THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT? Jesus fulfilled the Sabbath Law by completely ceasing from His own labors and absolutely resting in God's will. That is why He felt it was possible to profane the Sabbath, but still be blameless (Matthew 12:5); He declared that it IS lawful to DO WELL on the Sabbath days (Matthew 12:12); He felt that the Sabbath was made for the convenience of man in doing God's will, not man for the convenience of an inflexible law (Mark 2:27); He emphasized that the Son of Man is Lord or master of the Sabbath, so that he can control the happenings of that day for the glory of God, Matthew 12:8. Note: Hebrews 3:18; 4:1, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11. This rest from our wills to do the will of God is our Sabbath. Note verse 9, where the word in the original Greek actually refers to the Sabbath!

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